This year's Arthur C. Clarke Awards had a slightly controversial shortlist, but the winner seems likely to make a lot of people happy: It's the Booker-longlisted novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers.

Women are dying in their millions. Some blame scientists, some see the hand of God, some see human arrogance reaping the punishment it deserves. Jessie Lamb is an ordinary girl living in extraordinary times: as her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her towards the ultimate act of heroism. If the human race is to survive, it's up to her. But is Jessie heroic? Or is she, as her father fears, impressionable, innocent, incapable of understanding where her actions will lead?